Tamil Nadu coach Sulakshan Kulkarni resigns after just one year in charge

The former Mumbai player was appointed in 2023 on a two-year deal and had a year left in his contract.

Tamil Nadu’s coach Sulakshan Kulkarni (l) with Sai Kishore. | Photo Credit: The Hindu / Emmanual Yogini

Tamil Nadu coach Sulakshan Kulkarni’s tenure at the helm has ended after just one year. The former Mumbai player was appointed in 2023 on a two-year deal and has a year left in his contract, but the 57-year-old has written to the association that he won’t be available for the next season. The equation between the players and the coach crumbled during the season.

In the recently concluded domestic season, Tamil Nadu finished as semifinalists in the Vijay Hazare and Ranji Trophy while crashing out of the group stage in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. While it was the first time in five seasons that TN reached the knockout stages in the Ranji Trophy, all was not well within the team, with the players and coach not being on the same page.

After TN’s semifinal exit against Mumbai earlier this month, Kulkarni’s post-match comments that the team lost the game at the toss when skipper R. Sai Kishore chose to bat first on a seamer-friendly pitch further exposed the fissures inside the team. After that, it became inevitable that he would not continue.